By Anna Babinets, Natalie Sedletska and Oleksandr Akymenko

“We’ve survived, though we are outlaws.”

This line from a Russian gangster song became the unofficial anthem of the presidential hunting club whose members were a who’s who of the Ukrainian ruling elite including presidents, billionaires and others during the rule of deposed President Viktor Yanukovych.

The Kedr hunting club occupies nearly 100 hectares (250 acres) of protected forest adjoining Yanukovych’s billion-dollar Mezhyhirya residence. That land has been returned to the state after the former leader fled to Russia, where he is dodging mass murder charges filed by the new Ukrainian government.

The club land is being leased from a limited liability company named Dom Lesnika, which is closely connected to Mezhyhirya and Yanukovych.

Ukraine’s former president is still palpable in every detail here. Ostrov (Island), one of the hunting clubhouses, closely resembles Honka, Yanukovych’s posh mansion at Mezhyhirya, today a symbol of corruption and extravagance.

Kedr’s membership roll is exclusive including only 28 members  but they are the richest and most influential individuals during the Yanukovych era.

Ex-presidents Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma, billionaires Viktor Pinchuk and Vadim Novinsky as well as a whole array of ministers, officials, members of parliament and businessmen were among those who joined Kedr’s ranks to go hunting with Yanukovych.

Former secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Andriy Kluyev was the last public official to join Kedr. On Dec. 28, in the midst of EuroMaidan protests, he filed an application form. On Feb.10, just 12 days before Yanukovych fled the country, Kluyev paid Hr 120,000 ($15,000) in membership fees.

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